Wal-Mart shifting but still in the mix

Plans to move the supercenter away from the South Lake Trail fail to quell opposition.

Faced with widespread opposition to a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter, Plaza Collina's developers last week promised changes for Lake County's largest shopping center planned near the Orange County line.

The Wal-Mart, however, is still very much a part of the Plaza Collina development. A meeting in Tavares on Wednesday was meant to calm concerns about putting the low-cost mega-retailer in what was billed as a high-end shopping center.

The plan continued to draw strong objections, primarily because of its anchor store.

John Dowd, senior vice president of development at the Goodman Co., said much of the opposition stems from a national campaign against Wal-Mart rather than local concerns. He said an early blueprint for the project has been unfairly used to characterize the development.

"It was conceptual and preliminary," Dowd said. "That's not what we're building."

The new plan calls for moving the Wal-Mart away from the scenic South Lake Trail and closer to the center of the 142-acre property on State Road 50 east of Clermont and near the Orange County line.

The Wal-Mart will move between an area designed for mid-size stores and what Dowd called a lifestyle center -- where the goal is to attract high-end vendors and restaurants.

Dowd said Wal-Mart has approved the new location.

Although some at the meeting viewed the change as an improvement, others argued that Wal-Mart's mere presence would discourage high-end retailers from moving into the same shopping area.

Clermont resident Judy Proli said she collected 340 signatures for a petition against the project. She said her expectations for the development were different from the Wal-Mart proposal.

"They were going to build us a beautiful village center," said Proli, a Clermont resident. "When you put in a big-box store like Wal-Mart, you degrade the area from upscale to lower scale."

The rearranged project design, which would move other buildings as well, has yet to be submitted to county planners.

Wednesday's discussion was the first of several meetings the developers intend to have to win support for the project.

The state Department of Community Affairs is working to determine whether current plans for Plaza Collina are significantly different from what county commissioners approved in January 2006.

Moving buildings, including the proposed Wal-Mart, could address some fears about dense development near the recreational trail.

Others say it does not affect the 24-hour traffic and other changes a Wal-Mart would bring to the area.

"For the surrounding neighbors, there still would be the fact that there is a 24-hour Wal-Mart there," said Oakland Town Manager Maureen Rischitelli, whose small Orange County community is just east of the Plaza Collina site.

Past plans from partners Phoenicia Development and the Goodman Co. propose Plaza Collina to have about 988,000 square feet of buildings. Opponents argue that the project is dramatically different from the upscale vision originally presented to the county last year.

Much of the opposition targets the 207,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, which could be Plaza Collina's largest anchor.

Last month, county commissioners halted part of Plaza Collina's preliminary construction and asked the state to take another look at site plans for the shopping center.